Large House, Enormous Imprisonment

Throughout Song of Solomon, flight is a significant motif representing how African Americans wanted an escape from the slavery they were forced into.

I can relate.

Ok maybe not exactly, but I indeed want to fly away and escape the house I so call “live” in.

What exactly do I mean by that? I’m talking about how my parents are extremely protective over me, therefore restrict me from everything life has to offer. I am bound to their feet, having to obey their every move.

I NEED an escape from this life. I feel like I’m a slave having to listen to every word of my owners, or else I won’t hear the end of it. 

Although, others may be annoyed with what I’m saying right now, because they desire the house I live in, which is huge and gorgeous. The problem is, what is a house without its roots? What is a shelter if you have nothing to live for? This passage in Song of Solomon is one that can help people understand my grief:

“[The ones] who did, who accepted her invitations to tea and envied the doctor’s big dark house of twelve rooms and the green sedan.... The others, who knew that the house was more prison than palace, and that the Dodge sedan was for Sunday drives only, felt sorry for Ruth Foster” (Morrison 9-10).

I feel like Ruth: trapped inside a huge house, unable to break free from its confinement. Only the ones closest to me know that my house is much prettier on the outside than in the deep depths of it. 

Sometimes, I am so close to breaking down the doors and just driving away from the terror. Other times, I want to scream so loud, hoping others will feel my sorrow. 

Unfortunately, I can’t do so, and I will have to deal with all my problems just as the slaves did. I hope one day, my parents will realize that their ways aren’t protecting me, rather, killing me slowly, day by day.